Politics of God or Politics of Man? The Role of Religion and Deprivation in Predicting Support for Political Violence in Israel

This study examines the associations between religious affiliation and religiosity and support for political violence through a nationwide sample of Israeli Jews and Muslims. Based on structural equation modeling, the findings show that by and large Muslims are more supportive of political violence than Jews and more religious persons are less supportive of political violence. Deprivation, however, was found to mediate these relations, showing that the more deprived – whether Muslims or Jews, religious or non-religious persons – are more supportive of political violence. The explanatory strength of religion and deprivation combined in this manner was found to be stronger than any of these variables on their own. The findings cast doubt on negative stereotypes both of Islam and of religiosity as promoting political violence. They suggest that governments which want peace at home, in Israel as elsewhere, would do well to ensure that ethnic and religious differences are not translated into, and compounded by, wide socio-economic gaps.     

经济发展的道德支撑--读马克斯·韦伯《新教伦理与资本主义精神》

韦伯的学说引发了全球的"韦伯热".其主要贡献之一就是探讨了新教伦理与资本主义发展的关系.一个社会的价值标准和道德观念无疑对该社会的经济发展起作用.通过分析和批判韦伯的思想,有助于使人们更清楚地认识到伦理道德在社会生活中的重要作用,有助于为中国市场经济发展寻找到它的基石,有助于促进社会主义物质文明和精神文明迅速、健康和持续的发展.     

Economic Crisis and Support for Democracy in Europe

The study of the impact of the economic crisis on attitudes toward democracy tends to be focused on satisfaction with specific democratic institutions. This article expands upon previous research to explore how the current economic crisis can affect core support for democracy as a regime. Based on European Social Survey data for the Eurozone countries, the findings are twofold. It is shown, firstly, that perceptions of the state of the economy have an impact both on satisfaction with and support for democracy, and, secondly, that citizens’ support for democracy is greater in bailed-out countries. In countries that have experienced intervention, the more critical citizens and those less satisfied with the outputs of democracy are the stronger advocates of democracy. The article argues that this is connected with the tendency of critical citizens in bailed-out countries to blame external agents for the economic situation while increasing the saliency of democratic rules as a reaction to the imposition of unpopular measures.     

非理性因素在管理决策中的积极作用

决策是管理活动中的核心环节,决策者在管理活动中经常面对复杂的信息和环境以及不确定性等状况,不能够简单地使用以前的准则和程序来解决这类问题,应该发挥需要、情感、意志、无意识、灵感、直觉等非理性因素在决策活动中积极的引导作用、创造作用和协调作用。     

The Wages of Intimate and Anonymous Capitalism

The spirit of capitalism is a sentimental reflection of its practice, and the practice envisioned by the likes of Adam Smith and other early proponets of capitalism assumed an intimate commerce among friends and neighbors. With the advent of the industrial revolution and the development of the modern corporation, commercial relationships increasingly became anonymous, with the result that the sentimal forces that once shaped capitalism withered, leaving a crude, uncomplicated form of self-interest in their place.Drawing on economic history, classic works of political economy, and personal interviews, I tell the story of these two competing visions of capitalism, the intimate capitalism of the old world (a phenomenon still visible in small town America, today) and the anonymous capitalism of contemporary commerce.     

The Role of Personal Benefits in Public Support for the EU: Learning from the Erasmus Students

This article presents evidence that the effectiveness of receiving personal benefits from one's country EU membership may have been overestimated. Based on the findings of a longitudinal survey on Erasmus students' attitudes towards the EU, it shows that the beneficiaries of the EU-funded programme did not strengthen their EU support over time. The data analysis controls for a number of alternative explanations and finds that they did not affect the failure of the Erasmus study-abroad experience to instil higher levels of EU support. Neither EU money nor personal contact with other Europeans was capable of influencing students' support for the EU. The empirical results highlight that the increased expectations from both the Erasmus programme and the egocentric utilitarianism thesis are likely to be ill-founded.     

Public Support for Referendums: The Role of the Media

Previous research is unclear about which citizens support the use of referendums and how a referendum campaign can affect support for direct democracy. This study investigates, first, the factors that determine support for referendums and, second, the role of the campaign in changing support. This is done in the context of the 2005 Dutch EU Constitution referendum. A media content analysis of national media (N = 6,370) is combined with panel survey data (N = 1,008). The results suggest that those who felt more politically disaffected were more supportive of referendums. Furthermore, higher levels of exposure to tabloid style campaign news led to increased approval of referendums. In a second step, the mechanism behind this effect was tested using an experiment (N = 580). When exposed to negative tabloid style news about a referendum proposal, opponents perceive the assumed consequences as more of a threat. This threat perception increased their support for a referendum on the issue at stake as a means to prevent the proposal. The article concludes with a discussion about the conditions under which a dynamic like this is likely to unfold and when alternative explanations for referendum support apply.     

Sowing Dragon's Teeth: Public Support for Political Violence and Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland

While much attention has been devoted to political efforts to solve the Northern Ireland problem, less attention has been given to the role of political violence in sustaining the conflict. We argue that one of the reasons for the intractability of the conflict is widespread exposure to political violence among the civil population. By 1998, thirty years after the conflict started, one in seven of the population reported being a victim of violence; one in five had a family member killed or injured; and one in four had been caught up in an explosion. Such widespread exposure to violence exists alongside latent support for paramilitarism among a significant minority of both communities. Using 1998 survey data, we show that exposure to violence serves to enhance public support for paramilitary groups, as well as to reduce support for the decommissioning of para-military weapons. Overall, the results suggest that only a lengthy period without political violence will undermine support for paramilitarism and result in the decommissioning of weapons.     

Preventing Dysfunction and Improving Policy Advice: The Role of Intra‐Departmental Boundary Spanners

It is well established in the public management literature that boundary spanners – people or groups that work across departments or sectors – are critical to the success of whole of government and joined‐up working. In studying recent unprecedented change to central government agencies in the Australian context, our research identified that intra‐departmental boundary spanners also play a critical role in the functioning of government departments, particularly during restructuring. Although most contemporary literature in public management concentrates on boundaries across formal organisational entities (departments, agencies, sectors), boundaries also exist within departments. Our research has found that without dedicated intra‐departmental boundary spanners, significant role confusion and dysfunctional practices arise. In turn, this has serious implications for the quality of policy advice given to Cabinet. Further research needs to be undertaken into both the role of intra‐departmental boundary spanners and how to nurture and manage the practice of intra‐departmental boundary spanners. This is especially the case if changes in Australia represent a fundamental shift more broadly in the way central government agencies operate.     

Turnover among City Managers: The Role of Political and Economic Change

Executive turnover can have profound effects on city policies, programs, and commitments such as contracting or issuing debt. This article identifies how political changes, reflected in the composition of the city council, and economic changes in the community influence city manager turnover. Analysis of manager turnover patterns in 143 large U.S. cities with council-manager governments from 1987 to 1999 allows us to distinguish "push" and "pull" factors that can induce city managers to leave their jobs. The empirical analysis demonstrates that political conflict and economic development can influence the likelihood that a city manager will exit a community, but these effects can be complex. In particular, the influence of community economic development on turnover includes a temporal dimension not revealed in previous research. We conclude by discussing the findings' implications for career patterns in city management.     

经济体制改革动力结构比较及作用机理分析

经济体制改革作为一个开放的系统工程,是由各种动力源引致发生的并形成了特定的动力结构。本文认为支撑动力、调节动力和辅助动力三者共同构成了经济体制改革动力结构,三者的构成内容在不同的经济体制改革阶段存在差异,通过相互协同、彼此促进、交叉耦合,形成了功能强大的动态动力网络。     

Explaining Public Support for Counterproductive Homelessness Policy: The Role of Disgust

Federal, state, and city governments spend substantial funds on programs intended to aid homeless people, and such programs attract widespread public support. In recent years, however, state and local governments have increasingly enacted policies, such as bans on panhandling and sleeping in public, that are counterproductive to alleviating homelessness. Yet these policies also garner substantial support from the public. Given that programs aiding the homeless are so popular, why are these counterproductive policies also popular? We argue that disgust plays a key role in the resolution of this puzzle. While disgust does not decrease support for aid policies or even generate negative affect towards homeless people, it motivates the desire for physical distance, leading to support for policies that exclude homeless people from public life. We test this argument using survey data, including a national sample with an embedded experiment. Consistent with these expectations, our findings indicate that those respondents who are dispositionally sensitive to disgust are more likely to support exclusionary policies, such as banning panhandling, but no less likely to support policies intended to aid homeless people. Furthermore, media depictions of the homeless that include disease cues activate disgust, increasing its impact on support for banning panhandling. These results help explain the popularity of exclusionary homelessness policies and challenge common perspectives on the role of group attitudes in public life.     

农村专业经济协会的角色、功能及目标定位

农村专业经济协会具有自愿性、专业性、服务性和互助性等特点。农村专业经济协会在农村经济发展中承担多种角色。角色之一：政府与农民之间的信息传输者;角色之二：农业产业化经营的重要组织者;角色之三：农民利益与意愿的表达者;角色之四：参与农产品国际贸易的指导者与协调者;等等。由于这类组织起步晚,发展速度又比较快,难免存在着诸如组织比较松散、结构不合理、发展能力不强、融资难、服务功能弱等问题。因此,从完善内部管理,提高协会自身素质,营造外部环境、开拓协会融资渠道,增强服务功能、发挥协会引领与支撑作用等方面进行准确的目标定位是协会的现实选择。     

Escaping the TRIPs' Trap: The Political Economy of Free and Open Source Software in Africa

Across sub-Saharan Africa, the promise of 'informational development' is proclaimed. The global governance of intellectual property rights (IPRs), however, currently structured through the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement and overseen by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), makes much software expensive to deploy. There is an alternative: open-source and/or free software ameliorates many of the cost problems countries in Africa have anticipated as they have changed their laws to protect IPRs; using non-proprietary software will enable them to deploy extensive computerisation without making large payments to suppliers from the developed countries. By escaping the TRIPs' trap, many Africans will be better able to enjoy the potential benefits of 'informational development'.